Carpet seamer

ABSTRACT

AN APPARATUS FOR SEAMING CARPETS FACE-UP ON THE FLOOR HAVING A SUPPORT FOR A ROLL OF CARPET TAPE, MEANS FOR FOLDING THE TAPE ALONG A LONGITUDINAL CENTERLINE THEREOF, AND MEANS FOR FEEDING THE TAPE TO THE UNDERSIDE OF TWO ABUTTING PIECES OF CARPET LYING FACE-UP ON THE FLOOR, WHEREBY THE TAPE AND THE CARPET ARE IN POSITION FOR THE CARPET TO BE   SEAMED BY BEING SUBSEQUENTLY ADHERED TO THE TAPE. THE APPARATUS ALSO INCLUDES A RECEPTACLE FOR ADHESIVE TOGETHER WITH MEANS TO SPREAD THE ADHESIVE UNIFORMLY ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE TAPE.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W 11, 1971 L. R. JOHNSON CARPET 'SEAMER Filed Aug. 50, 1968 LEO R. JOHNSON N3 mm\ !r\ m 3w //ow m9 mm n Q@ mm 8 5 om om mm @w I/VVEN 70/? BY BUG/(HORN, BLORE, KLAROU/S T a SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEYS W 1971 1.. R. JOHNSON 3,578,534

CARPET SEAMER Filed Aug. 30, '1968 5 Sheets-SheetB FIG. 4

. F v 75 4 N v I 1 A In 'i I155: 74

\ q dh LEO R. JOHNSON INVENTOR' BY BUCKHOR/V, BLORE, KLAROU/ST 6 SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,578,534 CARPET SEAMER Leo R. Johnson, 7026 NE. Grand Ave., Portland, Oreg. 97211 Filed Aug. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 756,527 Int. Cl. B31f /06 US. Cl. 156--461 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for seaming carpets face-up on the floor having a support for a roll of carpet tape, means for folding the tape along a longitudinal centerline thereof, 'and means for feeding the tape to the underside of two abutting pieces of carpet lying face-up on the floor, whereby the tape and the carpet are in position for the carpet to be seamed by being subsequently adhered to the tape. The apparatus also includes a receptacle for adhesive together with means to spread the adhesive uniformly across the width of the tape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the seaming of carpets and more particularly to an apparatus suitable for seaming two abutting pieces of carpet with carpet seaming tape as the pieces of carpet lie face-up on the floor.

Carpet for both commercial and domestic uses is woven in standard size widths. Thus, in most cases to cover the entire floor of a room, two or more strips of carpet must be joined or seamed together. Such seaming has been done in the past by hand or machine sewing, but presently much of the seaming is being done using the various carpet seaming tapes that are on the market. These tapes generally comprise a strip of crepe paper to which a fabric material is attached either by an adhesive or by sewing the material directly to the paper. A typical carpet seaming tape is shown in Pat. No. 2,727,295.

In tape seaming two pieces of carpet on location, the practice has been to place the carpet face up on the floor with their edges in abutting relation. The edges are then folded back and a length of carpet seaming tape is placed on the floor with its longitudinal centerline lying along the proposed seam. The ends of the carpet seaming tape are tacked to the floor to maintain the tape in place. The surface of the tape is coated with adhesive, and the edges of the carpet are then placed on the tape to make the seam.

The correct placement of the tape on the floor underneath the proposed seam requires considerable skill on the part of the mechanic to insure that the tape lies directly underneath the abutting edges of the pieces of carpet with its centerline along the line of the seam. If the proposed seam is to be a long one, it is difficult to achieve a perfect alignment of the tape. Once aligned, it is easy inadvertently to move a portion of the tape so that it will no longer lie directly underneath the seam.

A further difiiculty is caused by the fact that it is necessary to coat the entire length of tape before the edges of the carpet can be folded back down on it. This permits the adhesive to dry partially before the seam is made thereby to lessen the strength of the ultimate bond. Most carpet seaming tape adhesives are latex adhesives which are water soluble, and better adhesion is obtained if the carpet is placed in contact with the adhesive before any of the water has a chance to evaporate. Naturally, the sooner the carpet mechanic can get the abutting edges of the carpet in contact with the adhesive on the tape, the stronger the seam he will produce.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that will facilitate the laying of carpet seaming tape directly in place underneath the abutting edges of two pieces of carpet to be seamed thereby.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus that will facilitate the making of the seam by reducing the time that the adhesive is exposed to the air before the pieces of carpet can be placed in contact therewith.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus that will materially reduce both the time and the cost of seaming carpet using carpet seaming tape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Carpet seaming apparatus according to the present invention comprises means for supporting a roll of carpet seaming tape, means for folding the tape along a longitudinal centerline thereof, and means for feeding the tape to the underside of two abutting pieces of carpet lying face-up on the floor, whereby the tape and the carpet are in position for the carpet to be seamed by being subsequently adhered to the tape.

The apparatus may further comprise means for applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the tape, and means to spread the adhesive uniformly across the width of the tape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of carpet seaming apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention, the phantom lines illustrating the apparatus in the position it occupies when the carpet seaming tape is being initially threaded therethrough.

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale taken along the longitudinal centerline of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a different embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1-4, the carpet seaming apparatus 10 of the present invention is mounted on a base 11 and comprises a receptacle 12 for adhesive having a bottom wall 14, front and rear walls 16 and 18 respectively, sidewalls 20 and a top 22. The lower portion of the rear wall is beveled inwardly as at 24, and a handle 26 is attached to the rear wall 18-24 by bolts 28 and nuts 30. The top 22 of the receptacle 12 isprovided with an aperture 32 through which liquid carpet seaming adhesive may be poured. The aperture 32 is provided with a cover 34 rotatably mounted on a bolt 36 and secured in position with another bolt 38 and wing nut 40.

A bracket 42 is mounted on each sidewall 20 of the receptacle 12 by a bolt 44 and wing nut 46. A roll of carpet seaming tape is supported on a roller mounted on a bolt 52 and retained at the top of the brackets 42 by a wing nut 54. The brackets 42 are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of the tape 48.

The ends 56 of the sidewalls 20 of the receptacle 12 extend forwardly a short distance beyond the front wall 16, and a bar 58 is attached to the ends of the sidewalls parallel to the front wall 16, thus creating a space 60 therebetween. (See FIG. 3.) Tape 62 fed from the roll 48 can thus pass through the space as will be described hereafter.

A bracket 64 is attached to the front of the bar 58. An upstanding lug 66 mounted at the front of the base 11 3 is received within the bracket 64. The bracket 64 is attached to the lug 66 by and is rotatable on a bolt 68 passing through them both and retained by a wing nut 70, thereby to permit the entire upper part of the apparatus including the receptacle 12 and the roll of tape 48 to pivot about the top of the lug 66.

Two curved guides 72 are also mounted at the front of the base 11 on either side of the lug 68. The exterior surfaces 73 of the guides 72 form a prow 74 which slides beneath the abutting edges 75 of the two pieces of carpet 76 in a manner to be hereinafter described. (See FIG. 4.) The guides 72 are shaped concave inwardly, thereby to pinch the tape 62 below the bar 58 and fold it along its longitudinal centerline 77.

Depending from the bottom wall 14 and extending into a space 78 between the guides 72 is a fin 79 about which the tape 62 is folded. A small flange 80 extends transversely on either side of the bottom of the fin 79, and gradually widens at at 82 into a plate 84 that nests within a correspondingly shaped recess 86 in the base 11. As the folded tape 62a emerges from the curved guides 72, it passes through the recess 86 between the plate 84 and the base 11, thereby to be flattened while simultaneously being placed underneath the abutting edges 75 of the carpet 76.

A conduit 90 formed in the rearward end 91 of the fin 79 extends downwardly from the bottom of the receptacle 12 and serves to convey adhesive from the receptacle 12 to the upper surface of the tape 62 below the plate 84.

A well 92 into which adhesive from the conduit 90 can flow is formed at the rear of the plate 84. Well 92 has curved front and side members 94 serving as the terminus of the conduit 90. The side members 94 flare outwardly at a corner 95 to merge into a rear wall 96 which extends substantially the width of the tape. Thus, although the well 92 is of a width less than that of the tape 62 at its forward end 98, it widens to a width substantially equal to the tape at its rearward end 99. The bottom of the well 92 is open and the tape 62 serves as a seal or gasket to retain the adhesive Within the well and prevent it from flowing out on the floor. The underside 100 of the rear wall 96 serves to spread the adhesive across the tape 62 as the tape passes thereunder.

A roller 102 mounted on an axle 104 is disposed in a transverse position across the well 92, and is adapted by virtue of its special shape to spread adhesive not only on the underside of the pieces of carpet 76 as they pass over the roller, but also on the edges 75 thereof. The axle 104 of the roller 102 rotates in grooves 105 cut in the side members 94 of the well, thereby to permit the roller 102 merely to rest on the top of the well while being immersed in the adhesive.

The roller 102 comprises two halves 108, each of which is in the shape of a cone with the bases of the cones being disposed inwardly of the apparatus. The two halves 108 are attached at their bases. The abutting pieces of carpet 76, as they pass across the top of the well 92, are thus able to be coated with adhesive by the roller 102 as such turns on its axle 104 in the pool of adhesive in the well 92.

Each of the roller halves 108 has an annular ring 110 disposed around the base thereof. The edges 75 of the abutting pieces of carpet 76 contact the outer surfaces 114 of the annular rings 110 thereby to be coated with adhesive as previously mentioned.

A valve 116 is mounted at the top of the conduit 90 to regulate the flow of adhesive therethrough. The valve 116 comprises a sealing member 118 having an upstanding lug 120 attached to a pair of bell cranks 122 by a bolt 124 and nut, the bell cranks 122 being pivoted on a bolt 126 passing through a vertical supporting member 128 attached to the bottom and front walls 14, 16 of the receptacle 12. A resilient member 130, which may desirably comprise a tensioned piece of surgical tubing 131, is attached at one end 132 to the upper arms 134 of the bell cranks 122, the other end 136 of the tubing 131 being attached to a hook 138 attached to the upper portion 140 of a trigger 142 rotatably mounted on the handle 26 by a bolt 144 and nut 146. A rearward pull on the downwardly extending fingerpiece 148 of the trigger 142 rotates the same (in the direction of the arrow 150) about the bolt 144 and permits the upper arms 134 of the bell cranks 122 to rotate forwardly on the bolt 126, thereby to lift the sealing member 118 (in the direction of the arrow 151) from the top of the conduit 90 to permit flow of adhesive into the well 92.

A trough 152 is formed behind the rear wall 96 of the well 92. A weir or spillway 154 in wall 96 serves as the entrance to trough 152. The height of the weir 154 serves as a means of maintaining the proper level of adhesive in the well 92. When the level of adhesive is substantially lower than the weir 154, the trigger 142 is pulled rearwardly to permit more adhesive to flow into the well 92. Similarly, if adhesive flows over the weir 154, the valve 116 is permitted to close.

The upper part of the apparatus is removably retained against the base 11 by a resilient member 156, which may also comprise a piece of surgical tubing 157, hooked at its ends 158 to eyes 160 fastened to the base 11 on either side of the rearward end 99 of the well 92.

In operation, the receptacle 12 is first filled with carpet seaming adhesive. Two pieces of carpet 76 which are to be seamed are then placed face up on the floor with their edges 75 in abutting relation. Tape 62 is threaded through the apparatus, passing from the roll 48 through the space 60, between the guides 72 which fold it about the fin 79, and finally passing through the recess 86 under the well 92, emerging behind the rear wall 96. The end of the tape is stay-tacked to the floor. The prow 74 is then slid beneath the abutting edges 75 of the carpet 76 along the line of the seam while the trigger 142 is activated to permit adhesive to flow into the well 92 and coat the top of the tape 62. As the apparatus is pushed forwardly underneath the carpet, the edges 75 are spread slightly apart, riding up over the well 92 to be coated with adhesive by the roller 102. The edges 75 of the pieces of carpet 76 then fall back down on the coated tape 62, automatically forming the seam.

The apparatus 10 thus lays the tape directly in place underneath the abutting edges of the carpet as it is pushed forwardly along the line of the seam. It can also be seen that the adhesive that is coated on the tape 62a is exposed to the air a minimum length of time before the pieces of carpet fall back down on the tape.

Another embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. The apparatus 210 there illustrated is mounted on a base 211 and comprises a receptacle 212 for adhesive having a bottom wall 214, a front 216, a rear wall 218, sidewalls 220, and a top 222. The lower portion of the rear wall 218 is beveled inwardly as at 224, and a handle 226 is attached to the rear wall 218-224 by bolts 228 and nuts 230.

The top 222 of the receptacle 212 is provided with a removable cover 232 through which liquid carpet seaming adhesive may be poured. The cover 232 is secured in position by a stay 234 rotatably mounted on a bolt 236.

A retaining Wall 242 is mounted on each sidewall 220 of the receptacle 212. The front 216 of the receptacle 212 forms a curved support 244 to retain a roll of carpet seaming tape 248 between the members 242, which are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of the tape.

The support 244 extends forwardly of the roll of tape 248, and is slotted as at 250 so that tape 262 fed from the roll 248 can pass through the space 260 thereby created. A support 254 joins the support 244 with the front 258 of the base 211.

Two curved guides 272 are mounted at the front of the base 211. The exterior surfaces 273 of the guides 272 form a prow 274 which slides between the abutting edges of the pieces of carpet to be seamed. The guides 272 are shaped concavely inwardly, thereby to pinch the tape 262 beneath the slot 260 and fold it along its longitudinal centerline.

Depending from the support 244 and the bottom wall 214 and extending into a space between the guide 272 is a fin 279 about the front of which the tape 262 is folded. A small flange 280 extends transversely on either side of the bottom of the fin 279, gradually widening as at 282 into a plate 283. As the folded tape 262 emerges from the curved guides 272, it passes underneath the plate 283 in a recess 284 in the base, thereby to be flattened while simultaneously being placed underneath the abutting edges of the carpet.

A conduit 290 formed at the readward end 291 of the fin 179 extends downwardly from the bottom of the receptacle 212 and serves to convey adhesive from the receptacle to the upper surface of the tape 262 in the re cess 284. A well 292 is formed at the rear of the apparatus for receiving adhesive from the conduit 290. The bottom of the Well 292 is open, and the tape 262 serves as a seal or gasket to retain the adhesive within the well and prevent it from flowing onto the fioor.

A roller 302 mounted on an axle 304 is disposed in a transverse position across the well 292 and is adapted by virtue of its special shape to spread adhesive both on the underside of the carpet and on its edges. The roller 302 comprises two halves 306, each of which is in the shape of a cone with the bases of the cones being disposed inwardly of the apparatus. The two halves 306 are attached at their bases. The abutting pieces of carpet pass across the top of the well and are coated with ad hesive by the roller 302 as such turns on its axis 304 in the pool of adhesive in the well 292.

Each of the roller halves 306 has an annular ring 310 disposed around the base thereof. The edges of the abutting pieces of carpet contact the outer surfaces of the rings 310, thereby to be coated with adhesive as previously mentioned.

A valve 316 serves to regulate the flow of adhesive through the conduit 290. The valve 316 comprises a trigger member 318, the bottom portion 320 of which is normally urged against the end of the conduit 290 by a bracket 321 urged forwardly by the force of a spring 322 attached. to the rear wall 296 of the Well 292. Forward pressure on the trigger 318 forces the bracket 321 rearwardly against the pressure of the spring 322, thereby to permit flow of adhesive through the conduit 290 into the well 292.

In the foregoing description the invention has been described with reference to certain particular preferred embodiments, although it is to be understood that the specific details shown are merely illustrative and that the invention can be carried out in other Ways without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for seaming carpet, comprising base means for supporting a roll of carpet seaming tape above two pieces of carpet positioned on a carpet seaming surface with the edges of said pieces of carpet in abutting relation;

prow means at the leading edge of said base means for sliding beneath said abutting edges of carpet and spreading the same apart a distance less than the width of said tape;

means on said base means for folding tape withdrawn from said roll along a longitudinal centerline thereof and inserting said folded tape between said spread apart edges of said carpet; and

means disposed rearwardly of said folding means for flattening said folded tape underneath said carpet edges, whereby said tape and said carpet are in position for said carpet to be seamed by being subsequently adhered to said tape.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which said base means comprises means for applying an adhesive to the upper surface of said tape to adhere said pieces of said carpet thereto.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 in which said adhesive applying means comprise a receptacle for liquid adhesive, a conduit in communication with said receptacle, said conduit being adapted to convey said adhesive to said upper surface of said tape under the force of gravity, and means to distribute said adhesive uniformly across the width of said tape.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 further comprising valve means in association with said conduit for regulating the flow of adhesive therethrough.

5. Apparatus as in claim 3 in which said adhesive distributing means comprise a Well to receive said adhesive from said conduit, said well being disposed beneath said receptacle and directly over said tape, said tape serving to seal the bottom of said well, said well having a rear wall substantially equal to the Width of said tape, said rear wall spreading said adhesive across said tape as said tape passes thereunder.

6. Apparatus as in claim 5 further comprising a roller rotatably mounted in said well, said roller being adapted to spread adhesive on the underside of said pieces of carpet as the latter pass over said roller.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 in which each half of said roller is in the shape of a cone, said halves of said roller being attached at the bases of said cones.

8. Apparatus as in claim 7 further comprising an annular ring disposed around the base of each half of said roller, each of said annular rings being adapted to spread adhesive on the edge of one of said abutting pieces of carpet.

9. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which said folding means comprise:

a pair of guides disposed rearwardly of said prow means, and

a fin disposed between said guides,

said guides being adapted to pinch said tape and fold it about said fin.

10. Apparatus as in claim 9 in which said pair of guides comprise the rear portion of said prow means.

11. Apparatus as in claim 9 in which said guides are shaped concavely inwardly.

12. Apparatus as in claim 9 in which said flattening means comprise:

flange means positioned on each side of the bottom of said fin,

said flange means gradually widening rearwardly of said fin to form a plate,

said plate serving to pass over said tape and flatten the same while simultaneously placing the tape underneath said carpet edges.

13. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which said base means comprise bracket means for supporting said roll of tape, said bracket means being pivotally attached to said base means to permit relative motion of said roll with respect to said base means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,371,331 3/1945 Irwin et a1 156-546X 2,947,346 8/1960 Thompson 156-545X 3,007,837 11/1961 Goode, Jr 156461 SAMUEL FEINBERG, Primary Examiner J. I. DEVITT, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 156505, 545 

